Album Review

Paul McCartney – The McCartney Years (DVD)

• 23rd Nov 2007

First off, forget that multi-instrumentalist Macca is now eligible to appear on ‘I’m a Celebrity so get off my land’ or some such horror fest. He was a Beatle you know! Not John Lennon but certainly not Stuart Sutcliffe or Pete Best so, nonetheless a Beatle he was! I’m sure I needn’t bore you with his wings/solo career, you just came for the facts right? Right then, Paul McCartney the golden years no, the McCartney years DVD, is it any kop?

If a generous but general 6 hour flashback of Maccas efforts holds any appeal then of course this for you. All his/Wings piano enriched vids are on the first 2 discs whilst the final 3rd boasts some great live footage that are each pleasing in their own way. Strengthened and abundant with photos and footage of home life with Linda, vintage TV spots, appearances and unplugged sessions, this DVD set is actually quite good. I enjoyed it and though it might not be obvious at first, I’m not even a big Macca fan, though his track on the movie Vanilla Sky called Vanilla Sky was admittedly good. So there you have it, a general review of a general DVD but wait, what’s this… extras!

Honestly, I nearly didn’t bother mentioning them but omitting the info would put me up there with the C. I of A wouldn’t it now. Interviews that fans have surely seen more than a few times and snippets of forgettable performances don’t quite do the do. 1 of the 2 documentaries is interesting though I won’t give the plot away by telling you which! Oh, I tried to give the commentary a chance but found myself drifting in and out of earshot for more beer and less seemingly aimless chatter. Like the dog that dropped the bone into the river, Macca clearly wanted to retrieve that which he once had with his Beatle buddies but, as we all know, that’s one tough gig, tougher than getting a bone out of a river I’ll wager!